Taking the Blame
by WalkerTRngr
Summary: Dickie gets shot in a convenience store robbery and Elliot blames himself for the shooting.
1. Default Chapter

Hi, this is my 1st SVU fic so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. Enjoy!

The phone rang just as they turned onto their block.

"Hello? Hi mom. Yea the movie was really good, and after we went for pizza. Dad even let me order mine with sausage, onions, anchovies and pepperoni. It was great."

"I'm sure it was," Kathy Stabler said, as she cringed on the other end of the line.

"Would you ask your dad if he wouldn't mind stopping for some milk on the way home?"

"Sure mom, I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye Dickie."

"Bye mom."

"Dad, mom wants us to stop and get some milk."

"Okay, you know Dickie I was thinking with the amount of milk you guys drink how about buying a cow and sticking it in the backyard?"

Dickie just laughed.

"Dad!" 

Kathy's sister had flown in from Chicago for the weekend and the girls were staying in and renting some chick flicks so Elliot decided to take Dickie out for a guys night.

"Dad? Can I get some cookie dough ice cream while we're there?"

"Sure, just don't tell your mother I let you eat it out of the container," Elliot said pointing a finger at his son.

"She hates that. Yesterday I tried to drink the orange juice like you do but I spilled it all over my shirt. Mom said that's what I get for being a pig. She also asked me where I learned to do that and I said that you had taught me," Dickie said with a smile on his face.

Elliot laughed.

"Tattle tale!"

They pulled in front of the convenience store and hopped out of the car.

"Hi Elliot, Dickie. How's it going?" The store owner Frank asked. Frank was a retired cop who was always looking out for the kids in the neighborhood, giving them free ice cream and making sure they didn't walk home alone late at night.

"Good Frank. How about you?"

"Can't complain,"

"Dad I'm gonna get the ice cream." 

"Okay."

Dickie ran to the rear of the store while Elliot and Frank chatted.

"Dickie hurry up."

"Okay dad I'm coming."

Just then the bells on the front door chimed indicating another customer had entered. Unlike Elliot and his son, this customer was not looking for milk, or ice cream, he wanted money.

"Okay freeze," the guy said pointing a gun to the back of Elliot's head.

"Give me all the money in the register... Come on, let's move it a long here pops, I haven't got all night."

"Just take it easy..." Elliot started to say.

"Hey keep your mouth shut and don't move." The guy said nervously as he pressed the gun harder into the back of Elliot's head.

"Dad they didn't have cookie dough so I got rocky road instead." Dickie stopped when he saw the man with the gun.

The man was caught off guard not having noticed Dickie in the store before. He moved his weapon away from Elliot and pointed it at Dickie and pulled the trigger.

Elliot tried to push the guy away but it was too late. As soon as the gun went off Elliot knew that it had hit Dickie.

"Dickie!" Elliot rushed over and held his son in his arms

"Hold on buddy everything's gonna be fine." Elliot said as tears streamed down his face.

Frank got on the phone and dialed 911 explaining what had happened and requesting that they send an ambulance.

If you guys like it there's more to come just let me know. Please R&R. Thanks!


	2. Chapter Two

          Thanks for all the great reviews… Here's round two! 

Ten minutes later the ambulance had arrived and EMS workers rushed into the store.

            "Sir we need to take him to the hospital," Chris Patrick, the head EMS worker on the scene said as he approached Elliot.

            Elliot was so focused on Dickie that he didn't even notice the Ambulance workers on the scene.

            "Sir?"

            Elliot looked up for the first time since the shooting.

            "What? Oh yea."  Elliot was reluctant to give them Dickie even though he knew that they had to rush him to the hospital.  Elliot let them take over but was hovering close by.  A million things were running through his mind the foremost was what he had done wrong.  He was a cop; he should have been able to stop this from happening.

Everyone was so focused on Dickie that no one noticed the perp run from the store and hop in a getaway car.

"What happened?"  Joe asked.

            "Some stupid kid got in the way so I shot him." Mike said.

            "What if they recognized you?" Joe asked nervously.

            "Who's gonna recognize him.  He was wearing a stocking." Phil said from the back.

            Both Mike and Joe were kids looking to get into a local gang.  Phil was one of the leaders of the gang.  Their fist test had been to hold up a convenience store with Joe driving the getaway car.  Phil was sure Mike would be no problem but Joe was another story.  So far Joe had done okay but he was going to be keeping a close eye on him.

Since Elliot was shaky the EMS workers decided to take him to the hospital as well. He rode along side Dickie the whole way there.  Frank thought that in his condition Elliot wouldn't be thinking clearly and decided to call Kathy.  He told that her something had happened but thought it was better she hear what exactly it was from Elliot and told her to call him on his cell phone.

            "Kathy its Frank D'Amico."

            "Hey Frank.  How's it going?"  Kathy was a little worried why Frank would be calling her.  Elliot and Dickie should have already left his store and be on their way home.

            "Not too good.  Something happened.  You need to call Elliot on his cell right away."

            "What happened?"  Now Kathy was really worried.  Why wasn't Elliot calling her himself?

            "Just call Elliot it's better if he tells you."

            Kathy Hung up the phone and dialed Elliot's number.

            Elliot was sitting in the waiting room of ER when his cell phone rang.  Normally he would never have had his cell phone on in a hospital but that had been one of the last things on his mind.

            "Stabler."

            "Elliot?"  Kathy asked nervously.

            "Kathy," Elliot said relived to hear her voice.

            "Elliot what's going on?  Frank called me and told me that something happened.  What is it?"

            How was he going to tell her how much he had failed her?  How he had allowed their only son to get shot on his watch.

            "Kathy its Dickie… He…He," Elliot was having trouble getting the words out as tears streamed down his face.

            "What?" Kathy was desperate she could hear Elliot's voice breaking on the other end of the line and knew it had to be bad.

            "Ell?  What's wrong?"

            "Kathy he… He was shot."

            It was if those three simple words had shattered Kathy Stabler's life.  She cried out and dropped the phone in shock.

            "Kathy?"  Her sister Barbara called from the other room.

            "Is everything okay?"  When she got no response she went into the kitchen.

            She saw her sister curled up on the floor sobbing.  She ran right over.

            "Kathy?  What's wrong?"  Barbara noticed the phone off the hook and picked it up.

            "Hello?"  She called into the phone to see if anyone was still on the line.

            "Kathy?"  Elliot asked.  He knew that she was upset and didn't know how to comfort her over the phone.

            "Elliot, its Barbara.  What's going on?  Kathy's sitting here sobbing."

            Elliot didn't know what to say.  To say he felt guilty was a gross understatement.  He could hear the worry in Barbara's voice and he felt the pain in Kathy's.  This was all his fault.  If he had just acted quicker, talked faster maybe he could have prevented this.

            "Barbara, its Dickie.  He was shot.  I'm down at Mercy General now."

            Barbara was shocked.  Her only nephew shot.

            "Elliot, Kathy needs to be with you.  I'm going to bring her right over.  I'll have Maureen watch the girls."

            Barbara hung up the phone and took a moment to compose herself.  She knew her sister would not be up to making any decisions at the moment so she was taking charge.

            "Kathy," Barbara said as she hugged her sister.

            "You need to be with your husband.  Come on.  I am going to take you to the hospital.  I'll have Maureen watch the girls."

            Kathy stood on shaky legs understanding the importance of what her sister was saying.

            "Okay?"

            Kathy shook her head affirmative and went to get her shoes and jacket.  She was still visibly shaken but tried not to show it so she wouldn't frighten the girls.

            "Maureen.  I need to go out with you mom for a little while. Would you mind watching the girls?"

            "Sure we're just watching movies anyway."

            "Great we'll be back later."

            Barbara led her sister to the car and took off toward the hospital.


	3. Chapter Three

Here is chapter 3, hope you enjoy!

Elliot sat in the waiting room thinking about what he was going to say when he saw Kathy. How do you tell the person you love more than anything else in the world, that you let them down? He just kept thinking that there must have been something he could have done. As a cop he had witnessed scenes like this more times than he'd like to remember. But those were different. There he knew what to do. A surge of adrenaline kicked in and he was ready to take action. This time his world had stopped; it was like he had been frozen. He had seen grieving parents all the time. He had told them that he could feel for them. But the truth is that it wasn't until this moment that he could ever understand or share their pain. 

Elliot looked down and for the first time he noticed the blood stains covering his shirt and hands. He was about to ask a nurse where he could get cleaned up when Kathy walked into the room.

When Kathy saw Elliot's clothes she froze. Her poor little boy. What had happened? Was he going to be okay? Who would do something like this?

"Kathy?" Elliot called as approached her. He was wary. Would she even want to speak to him after what he had done?

Kathy ran over to him and collapsed in his arms sobbing. Elliot brought her over to one of the couches, and sat down, holding on to her the whole time. Kathy needed to know what happened.

"What happened?" she asked between sobs.

Elliot mentally prepared himself for her rejection.

"We stopped by Frank's to get some milk. Dickie asked me if he could grab some ice cream from the back. I told him to go ahead. I was talking with Frank when some guy walked in. I didn't even turn around to see who it was," Elliot said frustrated. "He put a gun to the back of my head. He asked Frank for all the money in the drawer. He never even noticed Dickie till he walked up to the front of the store. He just wanted to know if he could get rocky road because they were out of cookie dough." Elliot said his heart breaking, tears streaming down his face. "I let you down. I failed. I'm sorry."

Kathy should have thought of this before. She knew how hard Elliot took things especially those of a personal nature. It would be just like Elliot to blame himself for something he had no control over.

"Ell it's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything."

"I'm a cop! I failed my own son. If I can't even protect him how am I supposed to do my job?" Elliot said angrily getting up and pacing the room.

Kathy let him blow off some steam before she spoke again.

"Elliot!" She yelled to get his attention. He looked down and saw her face and for a moment he thought it might not be his fault, maybe there was nothing he could have done, but that moment didn't last long.

"Elliot look, I know you're blaming yourself. I also know no matter how many times I tell you it's not your fault you have to figure that out on your own. But Dickie needs you now. And so do the girls. They still don't even know anything has happened," she said before the tears started up again. "And I need you," she whispered. Elliot realized that regardless of how he felt about himself at this moment he had to be there for his family. He brought Kathy back into his arms. He would deal with everything else later. His wife needed him and he needed her.

Barbara Kelly walked down the narrow hospital hallway to the nurses' station. She wanted to find out how her nephew was doing. She knew her sister and brother-in-law needed some time alone so she decided there wasn't much else she could do at the moment.

"Hello," she said as she reached the station.

"Can I help you?" A nurse named Nancy asked.

"Yes, my nephew was brought in here a little while ago for a gun shot wound. I wanted to know if there was any news on his condition?"

"What's his name?"

"Dickie Stabler" The nurse automatically recognized the name. She remembered when the boy was brought in. He had already lost so much blood and from what she could see it looked like the bullet had entered very close to his heart. She remembered seeing his father who was brought in with him. He looked so lost, like his whole world had fallen apart.

The nurse plastered a cheery smile on her face and said,

"Hold on let me see if I can find the doctor."

The nurse left and returned ten minutes later. Although the woman was trying to keep a smile on her face, Barbara knew that it was an act. It wasn't good she could tell.

"The doctor is still in surgery. He feels it best if he speaks with you and the boy's parents himself."

"When will that be?" Barbara asked. This information was like having none at all.

"It should be in a little while. If you go back to the waiting room I'll let him know where you are."

Barbara decided she would find the cafeteria and get some coffee. This could be a long wait.


	4. Chapter Four

Sorry for the delay in updating. Thanks to all who reviewed. I will be away for the next week but I will try to update during that time. Hope you like it!

Elliot and Kathy were sitting in the waiting room sipping coffee Barbara had brought them when the doctor walked in.

"Mr and Mrs. Stabler?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Elliot said.

"I'm doctor Dr. Williams. I just finished operating on your son Dickie."

"How is he doctor?" Kathy asked.

"Well it was touch and go for awhile. We lost him twice while in the OR." At this news Kathy started to cry again and Elliot tried to comfort her.

"He's stable but still critical. He's in Pediatric ICU. It's too soon to tell how things will turn out but we're monitoring him closely. The bullet entered his left side and just missed his heart. Luckily it passed right through."

"When can we see him?" Elliot asked.

"I'll have a nurse come and get you as soon as he's settled."

"Thank You doctor," Elliot said.

It was a half an hour before a nurse came to take them to Dickie's room. She told them since visiting hours were long over she'd give them a half an hour. Barbara decided to leave them alone with Dickie and told them she'd go downstairs and pull the car around. When they entered the room it was like something out of a dream. Elliot couldn't believe that it was his son who was lying there hooked up to so many machines. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to protect his son.

Barbara sat in the car waiting for her sister and brother in law. She still couldn't believe what happened. Hadn't it just been earlier in the evening when her nephew had kissed her on the cheek and told her that he'd see her later? She was worried about her sister. She often put up a strong exterior but was really crumbling underneath, just like her husband. 

Barbara could still remember the first time Kathy introduced her to Elliot. She was glad her sister had finally found someone who respected and loved her. After her traumatic experience in high school she didn't know if her sister would truly get over it. But when she found Elliot she finally did. Barbara knew her sister was so patient with Elliot and his work because of the fact that she was raped senior year. It's not something many knew about, in fact their parents didn't even know. He had been the star quarterback who had asked her to homecoming. She of course had said yes. After the dance at a party he had laid it on thick, but Kathy wasn't buying. She had said no repeatedly but he wouldn't stop. She never reported it because her friends had said you know who they're gonna believe. It was her word versus that of the star quarterback. This was before the days of No means No. Guys still took no means yes. 

So although it was hard when Elliot worked such long hours, she never complained. She understood that he was doing for someone, what no one had done for her. Out of all the people who had known what had happened to her, not one had stood up to defend her, and tell her they would stick by her when she filed a complaint. And back then she wasn't strong enough do it alone. Barbara partially blamed herself. She too had told her sister that no one would believe her over the star quarterback who had a full ride to Notre Dame.

She saw Kathy and Elliot coming out so she started the car. The ride back home was spent in silence. Kathy was thinking about what they were going to tell the girls when they got home. It was 12:45 by the time they got home. Maureen was sitting in the living room watching T.V.

"Hey guys. I put the girls to bed awhile ago I..." She stopped speaking when she noticed that her mom had been crying and was still sniffling. Then she noticed her dad's shirt. It was stained with blood. She got real worried because she didn't see her brother.

"Is it Dickie?" she said not trusting her own voice.

"Maureen why don't we sit down," Now Maureen was really worried. Her dad only said things like that when she was in trouble or something had happened.

"Maureen honey, your brothers in the hospital," Kathy said before more tears streamed down her face.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Now Maureen started to cry.

"He was shot."

Those words broke down the last of Maureen's resistance.

"What? No!" and she began to sob. Her mother went over to comfort her.

Elliot felt even more guilty then he did before. Despite what Kathy had told him about it not being his fault he still felt responsible. Elliot decided he would go wake the girls. Elliot vowed that he would catch the SOB responsible for this. If it took everything he had he would find him. No one hurt Elliot Stabler's family and got away with it. This time it was personal.

I know cheesy ending lol. I will try and update by Saturday. For those celebrating enjoy all the holidays this week.


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